Why is no one looking at my online content?

The internet is literally saturated with content. Simply uploading your company’s latest blog or video and expecting prospective customers to find it is a bit like asking someone to visit your office by giving them a world atlas.

You need to add in a few pointers along the way to make sure they can find you – and when you do, it needs to be something they find interesting.

Here are a few simple rules to keep in mind when preparing online content:

Make sure it’s relevant and useful to your audience. Before launching into a lengthy whitepaper or detailed explanation about how fantastic your product is, take the time to find out exactly what questions your customers are asking before they buy. Then prepare content that provides the answers.

Take a look at the search phrases people are using when they are looking for solutions that you can help with. Type your blog title into Google. It will give you some alternatives that people have actually used when searching. You can also use www.googleadwords.com to research keywords and phrases and find out how popular they are.

Use different formats for people to engage with – for instance, video is a better format to view when travelling to and from work, infographics are good for displaying data and research, interactive content is great for engaging and staying in people’s minds.”

Is your content engaging? The average person has a very short attention span when it comes to online content – use short sentences, lose the jargon and adopt a conversational style, not a high brow business manual that’s hard work! Keep blogs between 400 and 700 words. If you need to go into more detail, invite interested readers to download a more in-depth article or report.

Keep videos short and try to avoid just using talking heads to camera, which is incredibly dull to watch. Storyboard your video in advance asking yourself what will make it interesting to viewers. Tell people something new, introduce different people, cutaway to relevant footage – and use a range of voices, not just the CEO. For more on video: 13 Essential Tips on How to Make B2B Videos that Don't Suck!

Use different formats for people to engage with – for instance, video is a better format to view when travelling to and from work, infographics are good for displaying data and research, interactive content is great for engaging and staying in people’s minds.